‘He’s very unheralded. He didn’t come in with a lot of fanfare,’ Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said of winger Ondrej Kasae. ‘He’s proving again that there are people out there. Just because you’re not drafted in the first three rounds doesn’t mean you can’t make it in the NHL.’ (AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

It is an equation that’s starting to add up for Ondrej Kase. At 22 and in his second season with the Ducks, Kase is tapping into his finishing ability and giving them some desperately needed secondary scoring.

With goals on back-to-back nights in Toronto and Montreal this week, Kase has 14 on the season. It makes him their third-leading goal scorer behind Rickard Rakell and Adam Henrique – in reality, their second as Henrique has 12 of his 16 with them.

And as he operates in the last year of his original three-year entry level contract, Kase is putting the puck in net more often than a few of his higher-paid teammates. But in a salary cap age when proven veterans earning big bucks can eat up a big portion of it, production from young, cheaper talent is necessary.

Having broken in last season with five goals in 53 games, the Ducks certainly hoped that the Czech right wing would build on the flashes of talent and tireless play in his game. They didn’t expect that it would be realized in a potential 20-goal season for a seventh-round pick mined out of the 2014 draft.

“I don’t think anybody would ever envision that,” Carlyle said. “It’s always nice to see. And it’s a tribute to our organization as far as the scouting staff and the people that acquire those young players.

“He’s very unheralded. He didn’t come in with a lot of fanfare. He’s proving again that there are people out there. Just because you’re not drafted in the first three rounds doesn’t mean you can’t make it in the NHL. But it’s always nice when you find a couple of those guys on your side.”

Ask Kase if he thinks reaching 20 is a goal he’d like to achieve and you see he’s got the team-first hockey mentality down.

“That’s too far,” Kase said, breaking into a smile. “The first thing we need is to make the playoffs. That’s the first thing I’m looking at. I’m just looking for if we win the game. If I score, good.”

But when it comes to confidence, Kase is brimming with it. Carlyle has put him on the top line in games here and there, but he is finding that the winger operates well with Henrique and Nick Ritchie on a third line that’s giving opponents something to think about beyond stopping Rakell and Ryan Getzlaf.

“It’s pretty good,” Kase said. “Two goals straight. We won last game (against Buffalo). It’s a huge win for us. And we played good as a line, actually. We played very good. Have so many chances.”

Others see the confidence oozing. Jakob Silfverberg sees the good scorer’s hands on Kase but really likes his nose for the net. “He goes to the dirty areas and he manages to find pucks and put them in,” the winger said.

“We’ve always kind of seen that he has offensive abilities in him but maybe not have the confidence to kind of blow up or whatever you want to say,” Silfverberg continued. “Especially this year. He’s really grown as a hockey player and you can see that he plays with a lot of confidence.

“Every time he’s on the ice, I think he’s a threat and he’s definitely a player who the opponent pays a lot of attention to. He’s been scoring some big goals for us this year.”

The energy he plays with also comes out after he scores. Perhaps no one on the Ducks is more exuberant when they’ve put the red light on. “Nothing crazy,” Kase said.

WHO’S IN GOAL?

Unless an injury makes it obvious, Carlyle isn’t one to announce his plan on which goaltender starts for upcoming games. And John Gibson proved that he can be just as tight-lipped about his own situation.

With Gibson taking part in a full practice and Reto Berra being relegated to scant duty, it appeared that the goalie moved a notable step closer to returning to action. There was little to be shared as far as how he felt or whether he might be available to play Friday against Edmonton.

“I can’t really talk about it,” said Gibson, who hasn’t dressed for four games because of a lower-body injury. “They told me not to talk about it. It’s obviously not that great if I’m still not out there.”

Pressed on whether he’s still in a recovery process, Gibson added, “I don’t even know yet. There’s still stuff that’s going on. I don’t know much. There’s stuff that I still need to get answered first. All the checks aren’t checked off yet. It was nice to be out there and give it a go.”

Ryan Miller has started all four games in Gibson’s absence and will be in for a fifth if it’s status quo. Unless the Ducks are determined to not tip their hand to the Oilers. Carlyle said it was good that Gibson was on the ice and that he’s “one step closer to joining our group.”

“We’ve got to garner points here and we’ll make the decision based upon who’s available to us for tomorrow night,” he said.